1:08 PM
Happy new year 2012
THE CANADIAN PRESS
TAMPA, Fla. -- Canada adopted a patient approach to overcome Guadeloupe 1-0 at the Gold Cup on Saturday.
When Guadeloupe's Jean-Luc Lambourde was sent off less than three minutes into the game after a late reckless tackle on Will Johnson, the Canadians played a controlled game, kept the ball and wore down their opposition.
Canada amassed 57 per cent possession, but the breakthrough didn't come until early in the second half when Dwayne De Rosario converted a penalty after Ali Gerba was brought down in the penalty area.
"Obviously them going down a man helped us out a lot to allow more space in keeping the ball," said De Rosario.
His goal secured Canada's first three points of the Gold Cup and kept them in contention to qualify for the quarter-finals. The Canadians will play Panama Tuesday in their final group game at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City.
Guadeloupe was reduced to 10 men nearly straight from the kickoff when Lambourde was given a red after his reckless studs-up tackle on midfielder Will Johnson.
Johnson did play the full 90 minutes but was feeling the effects afterwards.
"I've been better," shrugged Johnson on his way to the team bus.
But Guadeloupe packed their defence and clogged up the field, and while Canada carried the bulk of the possession they had difficulty breaking through and Guadeloupe managed to create a few chances.
"The 10 men remained very organized and were hard to break down and the longer the game went they were always in the game at 0-0. The first half, we failed to take our chances," said Canadian coach Stephen Hart.
Canada did get the ball in the net on 16 minutes when a De Rosario cross found Gerba, whose shot found its way in but the striker was ruled offside.
Goalkeeper Milan Borjan, starting in place of Lars Hirschfeld, had little to do until almost 30 minutes in. On a Guadeloupe counter-attack, Brice Jovial had a low shot across the box but Borjan got down well to make the stop.
"They have to be more in front of the ball," said Borjan, who was quite animated with his defenders on a few occasions after they allowed Guadeloupe chances at goal. "They have to get in to block. That was my reaction to them."
The half would end scoreless with the game played at a slow pace as both teams struggled under the heat and humidity.
"Especially when you're wearing red jerseys it's almost like wearing solar panels," joked De Rosario, who was awarded the man of the match award. "It was a tough situation to play in."
Canada still seemed to lack urgency coming out for the second half and Guadeloupe had a chance just seconds in when David Fleurival forced Borjan to dive to his left to make a save from a hard shot.
Canada's goal came six minutes into the second half when Gerba went down in the box after Stephane Zubar grabbed the back of the Canadian's jersey, holding him back.
De Rosario stepped up and put the ball low to Franck Grandel's left, sending the Guadeloupe goalkeeper the wrong way.
The game was played at Raymond James Stadium, the home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As the game started, the stands were virtually deserted but more people filtered in over the course of the game for the second match of the night between the host United States and Panama.
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